♥ November Event Log

[hugtopiamods]

November (Malom) Event Log
The chaos of Lasohm's invasion is still fresh in the mind, but it's over. The ugly scar of the hole in Havenwell's wall is a jarring reminder that this world is dying and nothing goes quietly into that dark night. The phantom is gone as Malom overtakes Lasohm, the weather turning colder and chillier with each passing day. Still, the city of Havenwell has all of you offworlders to thank for its survival, and the fearful citizens make sure you know just how much they appreciate you by stopping you on the street to say their thanks. Your new home still needs your help to recover from their ordeal though, so will you lend them your strength once more?

---

❥ PROMPT I: Rebuilding Effort

The magic barrier over the hole that unknown monster punched through Havenwell's wall is repaired, stopping the onslaught and encouraging any other nightmares that lurk outside to move on and away, but the hole itself remains. Throughout the month of Malom, robot natives are working tirelessly to gather bricks and stone and patch the breach, but they could use some help. Work together with other offworlders and natives alike to repair the wall and be rewarded with a handsome bump to the Dora in your bank account. They need all sorts of help, from clearing away the dead bodies of the spider-like creatures for cremation, to retrieving and hauling stone for the wall, to actually slotting the heavy blocks into place to cement them back together.

Outside the barrier, now clearly visible through the hole, a storm rages on, obscuring the view of the world beyond it. Gray and black clouds whip against the invisible barrier, and occasional debris slams into it, causing the impact site to light up with silver, pink, blue, or white hues before it fades away again. It seems even without monsters, the world outside is as inhospitable as was rumored.

Work together or take a break along the base of the wall and get to know your fellow offworlders a little better. It's going to take a while before this mess is cleaned up.

❥ PROMPT II: Air Sickness

Those who worked at or were near the breach in the wall for any extended period of time will notice that, over time, it gets harder to breathe. Then they begin to feel feverish, even if they don't have flesh bodies or are immune to disease. Their bodies ache and groan and it gets harder to move about without help. Once the natives notice, they set up a recovery area away from where the breach occurred: a giant tent with cots and pillows, thick rugs and blankets to keep the chill away. Unfortunately, they don't have medicines available to treat flesh bodied people, so they're at a loss of what to do otherwise. The priests gather anyone who is ill and brings them here...which is when a curious thing occurs.

While conventional medicines and healing spells seem to have no effect on the illness, staying in contact with another person alleviates the symptoms. After a period of contact with another person or persons, the fever breaks and it's like you were never sick at all.

Return to the wall, however, and you'll notice your symptoms coming back with a vengeance after a few days. It seems that making regular trips between the wall and this recovery tent is the only way to keep working. At least it's an easy fix so long as you're not a germaphobe.

❥ PROMPT III: A Tasty(?) Reward

Toward the end of the month as the hole in the wall is completely repaired and the risk of illness declines, a message is sent to all the offworlders' communication devices. Those who choose to open it will find a very official looking message from The Havenwell Council that reads:

Greetings, Saviours of Havenwell!
We of the Havenwell Council greet you and wish to express our eternal gratitude for your valiant efforts to keep our wonderful home safe. Without you, we would not have survived this terrible onslaught. As such, we wish to express our gratitude in a more concrete form. Your emissary, Magolor, has been in contact with this venerable Council and has brought to our attention that your greatest concern is for the food available. We apologize that due to our inability to taste we have been unable to supply you with satisfactory meals.

To that end, we invite you to work with our scientists to improve upon the taste of currently available offerings from our replicators. Please come to the Northern Research Tower (map included) at any time this month to sample what our replicators can produce and give us feedback on their flavour and textures. We ask that you be as specific as possible in your criticisms so we may improve upon your general quality of life. Please feel free to bring as many friends as you wish.

May the Gods Protect You,
Havenwell Council, Community Liaisons

Those who take the invitation will arrive at the Northern Research Tower and be taken directly to the 40th floor, where a large banquet hall has been laid out. Five rectangular tables, over 5 meters long each, stretch down the room, creating aisles for people to walk down. At the far end are several high round tables, covered in white cloth, and high round stools for those who wish them. The tables are overflowing with food, much like the welcome dinner, but at each table and scattered throughout the room are scientist robots with arm bands that read "Experiment 73" in that peculiar Aellyn script you saw during your time at the Archives. They invite you to taste the foods - both raw and cooked - and to give your very honest opinions.

Enjoy the food, help them improve the flavours, and walk the room to talk with the others who have come. Those who participate will receive a small synthetic fruit basket to take home with them on their first visit. Feel free to come back as often as you like, however! Each time, they'll be changing and adjusting the food available so your first and last visit may be very different. Perhaps that strawberry actually even tastes sweet, finally.

❥ PROMPT IV: A Virtual Spa

The VR cafes are uncharacteristically quiet while the rebuilding effort goes on, but there are still those who come to plug in to unwind after a day of intensive labor. And what better way to unwind than with a hot bath, right? Since the people of Havenwell can't actually submerge themselves in water, they're doing the next best thing: going to a virtual hot spring. There are several types to choose from and despite being digital, their calming and soothing effects on the body seem very real. Choose from:

• The Classic Outdoors: a rock lined hot spring with natural rock floors and steamy mineral infused waters nestled in the mountains. All around you is beautiful greenery like a sweeping pine and low fragrant bushes. The serene air and the calm forest is only occasionally broken by the sound of a wooden pipe thudding hollowly against a rock at a steady interval or the sound of birdsong off in the trees. The relaxing atmosphere is enough to set even the tightest wound nerves at ease.
  
  
• The Marbled Columns: white and painted marble columns lead to a series of different shaped baths with statues of the gods pouring water into them. Each bath has a different healing property, which is clearly marked with a plaque at the rim of each: good for your circulation, your bones, your aches and pains, even acne and metabolic rate. The columns support a beautiful open ceiling that shows the perfectly blue sky overhead dotted with the occasional cloud.
  
  
• The Steamy Sauna: though seemingly austere in their white tile and deep blue bath basins, the air here is thick and steamy and the baths are deep with hand-rails leading down steps to help you enter. All around the basins are stone or wooden benches with towels laid down for those who wish to simply sit and let the warm air open their lungs. If you get too hot? Grab a bucketful of cold water from one of the freestanding tubs and douse yourself to get a shock and cool off.
  
  
• The Milk-and-Honey: a beautifully tiled bath with a large shallow rectangular basin. The surrounding walls and ceilings have blue, white, and gold geometric designs laid out with loving care in pleasant designs that ease the mind. The bath water here is filled with a concoction of milk and honey to soothe and smooth the skin, filling the air with a pleasing sweet scent. The effects of these baths on a person's skin is said to make them glow from the inside out for at least a day after bathing.
  
  
• The Theme Park: the first thing to greet you is the comically oversized bottle of red wine tipped to pour a continuous stream of red liquid into the large crystalline bath basin. The smell of wine is heavy but pleasant in the air and the crystalline basin is round and shaped like a wine glass. Climb up the glass steps and give yourself a good old soak in the red water. You might even find that taking a dip here gives you a heady happiness that lasts all day. And if it feels like you're a little drunk while there? That has to be your imagination! ...Maybe.

Hot springs are great to experience with friends to deepen that feeling of skinship you have with each other, and several Havenwell natives are doing just that. But what about those who don't have a friend to log in with? Don't worry! The game will randomly select another player from this or another facility and match you together. Isn't that nice? We're sure it is! Who doesn't want to talk to someone else while naked, right?

---

This event will run from November 14th to the 31st. Click on each prompt's title to see the text. If you have any questions, feel free to direct them to the FAQ or to the Mod Question thread here.

Comments

[daikonrose]

"It's... fine, I think..." she groans as she pushes herself up. But once she's settled on her knees, she doesn't get to her feet right away. Her hands run over the rock, checking every crevice. "--Yes! I think so! There's no damage!" No damage to the rock!!

[hedgehogsdilemma]

That's... that's not what he had meant! His expression falls a little flat for a short moment before he reaches out a hand to her. Here, let him help you to your feet at least?

"That's... good." Rest assured, only the most high-quality and whole rocks will be going into the rebuilding of the wall. "Did you get hurt at all?"

[daikonrose]

The offered hand makes her pause for just a moment, her new formed habit of trying to calculate whether it would be socially acceptable to reject the contact about to kick in--but for once she realizes how ridiculous she's being. Obviously she should just go with it, in this context, gosh Kyoko.

It's as she lets him help her up that she notices the telltale sting in her knee. Jeez, she probably hasn't skinned it like that since she was a kid. But nothing else feels amiss. Shaking her head as she releases his hand to dust herself off, she gives the guy a polite, sheepish sort of grin. "I didn't break either! No chips or cracks at all. It's actually kinda amazing!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Don't worry, he's not very keen on getting too touchy feely with strangers either, and for sure, as soon as Kyoko's on her feet, Shinji has no problem with letting go. No touch dollars gained here, at least not on his end.

No chips or cracks, huh? That's a relief. "Sorry, again, I didn't think I'd make you lose your balance like that." Even if she's unhurt as far as he can tell, he still feels pretty bad about it! "I can help you finish moving it, if you'd like."

[daikonrose]

Kyoko's about to wave the offer off, but--two people will be faster, right? So if he helps, she doesn't really need to stop and tend to her knee first, it'll be fine to just wait until the rock is with its rocky brethren intended for the wall. It would certainly be more practical! And if he's here at all, he's probably here to work anyway, right?

So when she shakes her head, it's only to wave off the apology. "It's really fine! I was the clumsy one. But... are you busy with something else right now?"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"I was just finishing up with a short break," which is... mostly true. He probably would have taken a little longer if left to his own devices, but he also has no problem cutting it short to help out. He gives the wall breach one last glance before turning his full attention to Kyoko and her exceptionally heavy looking stone.

"I can definitely help if you want me to."

[daikonrose]

"If it's really okay!" Only now that she has the prospect of assistance is Kyoko sizing up the rock again and wondering if it's too big. It's one thing to tough out a difficult feat yourself, and another to get someone else tangled up in it. "... Picking this one was kinda irresponsible of me, now that I think about it...."

[hedgehogsdilemma]

"You were doing a pretty impressive job before, at least."

Setting aside all the yelling and the reliance on momentum, anyway. The least he can do for screwing that up is to help out now! Two people should ideally cut that work in half, so Shinji moves in closer, ready to help hoist that half once Kyoko is as well.

[daikonrose]

There's a sheepish little giggle--and only a very small breath sucked in at the pain in bending her knee--as Kyoko squats to find a fresh grip on the rock. "It was the kind of situation where you really have to see it through, once you start!"

Was it... really....

[hedgehogsdilemma]

He doesn't entirely miss that small, sharp inhale, but it seems more like the kind of thing to set aside for later, rather than comment on right away. Shinji will remember that.

"I guess so."

And he stopped her midway! How terrible of him!! More of a reason to at least make it right now, though!

"Ready?"

Let's get this rock up and going again...!

[daikonrose]

Kyoko nods, and with a huff and a heave, up goes that rock. Amazing. "Ah! Whoa--you've got it??" Since running isn't probably the best idea here, at least not right off the bat, she's trying out an awkward shuffle. "Watch your feet!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Hup--!!

"Y-yeah! I've got it!"

MAN how did she manage to get this one so far on her own?? Let's get the cadence of this shuffle down before taking it a little faster, but having the work shared like this should make it go quickly enough.

[daikonrose]

"Okay!" Sometimes it's easier to throw yourself wildly at a task and power through with the strength that comes from not being able to back out. Sometimes it's easier to be dumb and irresponsible than to share your labor with someone else in a strategic way.

But always, when faced with a formidable task, there is one tool at everyone's disposal. Kyoko lifts her head to roar, "Guts!!! Come on! Let's go for it!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Guts!! Go team fight!!!

Actually that battle cry seems to startle Shinji a bit, whoops? He probably should have been expecting it, considering her tactics while she was hauling that rock around on her own, but. Well. It's not enough to shake his grip or anything, but it gives him a moment of pause.

"R-... right!" He can not match that kind of enthusiasm on cue like that, but he's doing his best! "Let's go!"

Off! We go!!

[daikonrose]

Don't worry, Kyoko has enough enthusiasm for the both of them and also about three more people. She's not really expecting anything from him, either; his participation was already a surprise.

She'll just be doing her best to steer them over to the rocks designated for the wall, her yelling constant, a warning to everyone in their path. "Done hesitate!!!"

[hedgehogsdilemma]

He's not gonna hesitate! Not when Kyoko's so clearly making sure that there's not gonna be anyone getting in the way! Who would possibly stand around when there's such a noisy party running through? Just make sure you don't trip or anything!

Hustle, hustle!!

gazes upon my typos and weeps

[daikonrose]

And lo, they make the journey to the rock pile without further injury to anyone, even themselves. There can be miracles when you believe.

Kyoko drops her end and raises her arms triumphantly, twirling as she steps back. It's as much to stretch out her strained muscles as anything, but she tosses in another cheer anyway. "It's done! We slayed a beast today!"

It happens to the best of us

[hedgehogsdilemma]

Down that beast goes!!

"Phew!"

And she still has that much energy! Astounding! Shinji, meanwhile, needs to take a quick second or two to catch his breath.

"Good job...!"

[daikonrose]

Kyoko is panting a little, it's true, but she also does just have That Much Energy. She's not sick yet and the world of rock heaving is hers.

Giggling lightly between breaths, she grins at the boy. "Yes!! Good job--oh, what's your name?"